


Sleep, Albus.

by Sadsnail



Series: Dumbledore Insert [5]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Fluff, Gen, Kid Fic, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-13
Updated: 2020-04-13
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:42:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,605
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23624806
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sadsnail/pseuds/Sadsnail
Summary: Inserted into Dumbledore and de-aged to a four-year-old child, SI decides to fix it all. Snape is there, playing hapless father to the little eager beaver.— Albus spends a sleepless night waiting for the Tooth Fairy.
Series: Dumbledore Insert [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1579501
Comments: 12
Kudos: 36





	Sleep, Albus.

In the end, I didn't mind being in a whole new world, thrown into a new life and all that went with it. Magic was amazing and Severus and I were starting to feel like a proper family, I could barely remember my own. But what still got to me sometimes was this body. From girl to boy from old to young, most days—months—I paid it no mind. It was young and at nearly seven had the world of energy to keep me running morning till night which was all that I needed. But then there were days like this.

Horrified, I stared at myself in my bathroom mirror. Where there should be two perfectly fine—if babyish—front teeth now was one. And an empty bloody hole. Blood tinged toothpaste dribbled down my chin and the tooth lay mocking me from where I had spat it in the sink.

For days now I had tried to delay it. I made a point not to wiggle it, kept my tongue far from it and ate the smallest bites, chewing only on one side. I even made Dad think I was dying when I refused a caramel toffee from Minerva's stash! You would think the bloody tooth would get the idea and stay put. Noo, no such luck. I knew I should have skipped brushing tonight!

"Albus?" A knock on the door and Dad asked through it: "Are you ever going to come out?"

"Don't come in!"

Of course he came in. His bat radar must have fricken pinged. The door opened and I snagged the bloody tooth, swiped my sleeve over my mouth, and twisted away. "I sssaid don't come in! I could have been naked!" Oh, God no, did I just lisp?!

"You've not got anything I haven't seen yet, what are you up to? It's past bedtime."

"I'm brusshing my teeth!" I told him with my back to him. _That was a definite lisp._ Alright, words that had an es in them were out. Right out. Even better would be not to talk at all.

"Turn around."

"No." I tried to crab-walk past him.

" _Albus."_

"G'nite, Dad." Small had benefits and I squeezed like a slippery eel through the narrow gap between him and the doorway. Two seconds later I was in bed with the comforter pulled over my head. "Put the light off when you go!"

"Child," he said, sounding right next to me. "Do you honestly think I am going to leave after that?"

Yes. Yes, I did.

"Show me."

"No."

He raised the blanket and since I was clutching it very tightly I came with it. I also came yelling. "What happened to respecting when someone said no, or does it just count for you!?" _Please, no, did the gap just whistle?!_

"It counts for me because you think you can nag a no into a yes, now show me."

A shake separated me from the bedding but I was ready for it, I covered my mouth with both hands, and leaped for the floor. My glasses flew across the room but I did not care, there were two doors between me and the corridor and certain freedom. Super Bat Dad was faster. He grabbed the back of my pajama shirt and raised me into the air, and ignoring my ear-splitting yell, effectively stopped my flight.

"What have you done, Albus?"

"Why do you think I've done anything! I don't always do things you know!"

He didn't bother replying. Instead, he sat down and I found myself in a cuddle on his lap. What? He Accio'd my glasses and carefully placed it back where it belonged. I blinked up at him but his face, as usual, gave me no clue as to what he was thinking; it was one of the few things about him that I disliked with a passion.

"My apologies," he said. What? "Let me rephrase that. Why are you hiding your mouth?"

"I'm not." Which was a stupid-ass thing to say though my fingers, but it did not matter.

"Did you hurt yourself?"

"No."

His eyes narrowed.

"No, I did not hurt myself, Dad. Can I go to sleep now?" I asked through my fingers.

"No, not before I've seen what you're hiding. Will it help if I promise not to be angry?"

"Why would you—" Oh. He still thought I did something I shouldn't have. It was my turn to narrow my eyes at him. "I wass not naughty!"

We were at an impasse. I glared at him some more.

"To be clear, you are not hurt?"

"I'm not!"

"Then forgive me," he said and the next moment his fingers started to dig into my ribs, right in the most ticklish spot. I squealed behind my hands and clamped my elbows to my sides but I was spared a full-fledged tickle, for he stopped to wiggle his fingers threateningly in front of my face. "Show me your mouth or suffer the consequences, Albus."

God help me but I stuck to my guns. "No!"

"So be it."

I lasted but a second before he had me squealing and laughing, struggling to catch his hands and save my ribs. Evil Bat! I never stood a chance.

"Ah," he said when my hands left my mouth.

I covered it right back up—"Noo! Don't look!"—and watched in horror as his face started to twist into what could only be a smile. I swear if he made the _d'aww_ noise like Charlotte's dad did when she ran hers out against a tree I was going to kill him! Having no teeth was not cute!

* * *

He did not laugh.

Instead he very seriously assured me that he could barely see it, that I did not have to bother hiding it, for I was so short that all they ever saw when they looked at me was the top of my head. Then he chased me to the bathroom to wash my face and back to bed where he tucked me in. Still, it felt better to keep a hand over my mouth when I talked. I sounded like a fricken bird!

"Where's your tooth? You need to put it under your pillow for the Tooth Fairy."

"No, I don't. Charlotte already told me the Tooth Fairy is not real." I had been quite upset with Percy. The lies that kid told! Innocent me had sucked it all up. Well, one lie. I haven't caught him on more yet, but how can you trust somebody that wanted you to believe in fairies?

"I am going to kill that kid," Dad said. "Put the tooth under your pillow, Albus, the Tooth Fairy is as real as Father Christmas."

"You're Father Christmas, Dad, I am not a kid, remember?"

"I assure you I do not go around people's homes handing out gifts to snot-nosed brats," he said and his face twisted up into such a prune at the mere idea that I couldn't help a giggle. "Put the tooth under your pillow and you'll find some fairy dust in the morning."

"Nice try, Dad."

His eyebrows raised. "You do not want straight teeth?"

Why was he persisting with this farce? Could Charlotte have been lying? I eyed him unsure.

"Where's your tooth?"

Somewhere. Last I had it coming from the bathroom and then I lost track—oh, no! I scrambled up only to be stopped by his hand on my head. "Magic, Albus." He waved his wand and the small white tooth flew out from under my bed to hover in front of me. I took it hesitantly.

"Put it under your pillow," he ordered. "Then go to sleep, it is already past your bedtime."

He tucked me in a second time.

"Muggle kids get money," I told him.

"Yes, I know."

"Are you saying the Tooth Fairy gives them money?"

"No, it is their parents. Sadly for them, she only attends to little wizards and witches."

"Why?"

"It's just how it is. Sleep, Albus."

"Fine. I'm just saying if it is you then it's okay to leave me money. I can't do anything with dust."

"You can get straight teeth once I've made a potion from it, sleep now."

"Can I watch when you make the potion?"

"Yes. Sl—"

"Sssleep yeah, I know!"

"Goodnight, Albus."

* * *

No way was I going to sleep. I settled down and felt under the pillow for the tooth and clutched it in my fist. Tooth Fairy or Dungeon Bat, one way or another I will be finding out tonight.

It was always the same idiotic rule that they don't come if you're awake so I closed my eyes and pretended to sleep. Then I opened them again and felt blindly about for my glasses. I was going to have to sleep with them if I wanted to see who I caught! So be it if they broke!

Trouble was Dad had me in such a routine of going to bed at exactly eight o'clock each night, that my eyes immediately felt heavy and I nearly cracked my jaw yawning. This was not going to work, I needed a better plan.

* * *

A floor strewn full of Lego bricks was a sure way to catch sock wearing bats and I woke when he swore. The end of his wand lit up and he held it low to see my trap, swore again and muttered something about killing kids. Must be talking about Charlotte again.

"I knew it!" I yelled.

The light trained on my face. "Why are you not sleeping?"

"Why are you in my room?" I asked, sitting up. "Oh, ho! Could it be you're the Tooth Fairy?"

"Could it be that I routinely check on you and tuck you in?" A wave of his wand had the Lego's floating back to their bin. "Sleep, Albus. She'll never come if you don't sleep."

"If you say so, Dad." But I let him tuck me in again, eyes already drooping. I felt under the pillow for the tooth. "Sure you don't want me to just give it to you?"

"Sleep."

Yeah, no. I waited only until he was out to enact Plan B.

* * *

Aerial attack was next. A bucket of water over his head would have served him right but I had no clue how to achieve such a feat. What I did have was a bunch of purple memos. Fred and George had done a lucrative trade last year on the ministry's interdepartmental memos, until the students learned it was less expensive to charm their own parchments to turn into airplanes. After that, they had offloaded the lot onto me. They had been lying at the bottom of my sock drawer, just waiting for an opportunity to use them.

I touched the small orb on my dresser that served as a night light to make it shine brighter, and spent a good amount of time writing 'my room' on countless address lines. This way they had nowhere else to go except fly about, ready for an unsuspecting intruder's head. As soon as I ticked off the send box, they folded up into miniature airplanes, to flit aimlessly overhead. This time I barely had time to feel for the tooth with my inky fingers before I fell asleep.

A startled hiss woke me and I struggled up on my elbow to see Dad holding a crumpled airplane.

"Why don't you just ask me for the tooth, Dad," I complained. Whined maybe. It was certainly a moan, enough already, I liked my sleep!

"You can put an eye out with these, Albus."

"Am sure the Eye Fairy will visit you," I snarked and thumped my pillow viciously. There was probably a Talk in my future but at that moment I couldn't care less. I compounded it with: "Ssstay out of my room, Fairy Bat."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me." I clutched the tooth and sleep took me.

* * *

I didn't have to set any more traps. By now I was ready to wake at the slightest noise, twice I woke with the closet's creak, and the third was when a hand reached in under my pillow and fumbled about.

"I fucking knew it."

"Give me the tooth and go to sleep, Albus."

"No." I clutched it tighter. "Why didn't you just Accio it."

"It would disrupt the fairy magic."

I groaned. Was he still onto that? "Dad!"

"Albus." He crouched next to the bed to look me in the eyes, increasing the glow of his wand to a gentle light. "Enough already, hand me the tooth."

"Not until you admit you are lying."

"I have been drinking tea with a bloody tinkling fairy for the last hour, waiting for you to sleep," he hissed in a furious whisper. "And in case you wondered, she is able to eat a whole treacle tart by herself."

That woke me right up. "She ate my tart? I was saving that!"

"Too bad. Tooth." He held out his hand.

Could I trust him? Generally, yes. Did I just want to take him on his word? Also, yes. But. According to Percy once the Tooth Fairy scored the first one from you they did not need to visit again. If I wanted to see her I would not get another opportunity.

Bat Dad, who always swore he read my face and not my mind, scooped me out of the bed with an exasperated sigh. "It is way past your bedtime," he said, carrying me out. "And I would like to sleep sometime in this century myself."

He carried me to our sitting room where a tea tray was laid out on the low coffee table. A single teacup was set next to a plate which indeed held treacle tart crumbs—I knew my tarts. _A single cup._ Liar!

Before I could call him out on it, a rainbow fluttered in front of my eyes and a small tinkling sound filled the room.

"Hold out your hand, Albus," Dad said and I obeyed, opening my inky fingers.

The Tooth Fairy—The Tooth Fairy!—landed on my palm. She wasn't much bigger than a butterfly and I had to squint to see her colourful face. She stuck her arms in her sides and tittered at my offering. Oh, no! My tooth! There was ink on it! Would it still be usable?! Before I could ask though, she disappeared, leaving me to stare stupidly at the shiny little pouch that lay where my smudgy tooth had been a moment before.

"Bed," Dad said. He plucked the pouch from my palm and did an about-turn back to my room. "I would like to be done with this day."

"You promised I would see you make the potion!" I reminded him.

"In the morning."

"Can I see the dust again?"

"In the morning."

"It's _my_ dust!"

"Bed, Albus. It will still be there in the morning."

"Daad…"

* * *

Surprisingly I woke early. Poking Dad did not make him get up and only got me grumbled at. If it wasn't for the tiny pouch on his bedside table I would not have believed that the events of the night before had even happened. Leaving him to sleep I sneaked it out to my room where I set it carefully on my bedside table to stare at it in awe.

He found me still in my room hours later.

"What are you up to?"

"Writing an apology letter to Percy." I underlined a 'sorry' twice. I had already written a not-apology letter to dear Charlotte. "Do you want one also?"

"Always."


End file.
